Hoffman Estates approves three advisory referendums for March 2020 ballot
Hoffman Estates village board members have unanimously approved three advisory referendums for the March 17, 2020, ballot - the maximum any Illinois government body can have.
The three questions are:
• "Shall the Village of Hoffman Estates encourage the creation of a full interchange at Beverly Road and the I-90 Jane Addams Memorial Tollway?"
• "Shall the Village of Hoffman Estates encourage the State of Illinois to appoint judges based on merit?"
• "Shall the Village of Hoffman Estates encourage the development of entertainment venues within the Village of Hoffman Estates' Economic Development Area?"
Elk Grove Village last week approved three advisory questions of its own for the March 2020 ballot ahead of a citizen-initiated effort to place a referendum that could impose term limits on that village's government.
But Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod denied his own village's questions represented an effort to preclude any type of referendum brought by public petition.
"No, we wanted to take the pulse of the people," McLeod said.
Village Attorney Arthur Janura said that even though one question concerns the merit selection of judges in the state, all three are village-specific questions regarding action Hoffman Estates should or shouldn't take. The state's judges have an impact on Hoffman Estates residents, he said.
Though no board discussion preceded Monday's vote, McLeod said the three questions evolved from input he received in one-on-one conversations with the trustees about what issues they'd like to hear the public's opinions on.
Among them is whether the village should expend effort and money to expand tollway access at Beverly Road, which is now limited to traffic to and from the east. Full interchanges are in place at Route 59 and Barrington Road.
McLeod said the true cost of a full interchange usually can't be known until a more in-depth conversation has begun. The village's share for a full interchange at Barrington Road was once estimated at $18 million, but it ultimately dropped to $5 million, of which St. Alexius Medical Center pitched in $1 million.
Likewise, the village seeks input on whether to continue encouraging entertainment venues in its economic development area at the Prairie Stone Business Park, which has been a change from its original direction to provide 10 million square feet of office space, McLeod said.
Though the three referendum questions must still be filed with the Cook County clerk's office, no further village board action is needed for their appearance on the ballot, Janura said.